Centrelink. Annual Report

Transcription

1 Centrelink Annual Report

2 1 The year in review IN THIS CHAPTER: REPORT OF THE CHAIRMAN REPORT OF THE CEO

3 Centrelink will continue to make a positive difference to the lives of many Australians J PASCOE

4 1 CENTRELINK ANNUAL REPORT Report of the Chairman This financial year has been another year of challenge and new opportunity. For much of Centrelink was focused on Australians Working Together (AWT) in the lead up to the two staged implementation in July and September AWT has fundamentally changed the way the agency does business. Most jobs in Centrelink will change and a large number of new people will join the agency to work alongside our current staff in the new roles of Personal Advisers. Strong relationships with the thousands of non-government organisations in the community sector have always been important to Centrelink. These relationships are critical to the agency s role in delivering AWT. The agency will need to form even more effective partnerships with nongovernment organisations to ensure that customers receive the best possible support to enable them to move forward. During the year, the Board took the opportunity to host informal gatherings with non-government organisation representatives and Centrelink managers in Sydney and Hobart. These meetings provided valuable opportunities to share views and strengthen relationships. This initiative will continue in the coming year. One of the big challenges the agency faced related to the collapse of Ansett. Centrelink was asked to assist the public by helping stranded Ansett passengers with the costs of accommodation and alternative travel arrangements to return home. The responsiveness and professionalism that Centrelink applied to this new challenge was exceptional. For many Australians, this was their first contact with Centrelink and it is pleasing that the interaction was positive for them. Membership of the Board changed during the year. Both portfolio secretaries, Dr David Rosalky and Dr Peter Shergold vacated their positions on the Board Dr Rosalky as a result of his resignation from the Australian Public Service and Dr Shergold on his appointment as Secretary to the Department of Education, Science and Training. I take this opportunity to thank them for their valuable contribution to the Board. The Board was pleased to welcome Mark Sullivan, the new Secretary of the Department of Family and Community Services. I would like to express my appreciation for the work of my fellow Board members. Their wisdom and dedication to the work of Centrelink especially as chairs of Board committees was critical to the Board s effectiveness. I also extend my appreciation and that of the Board to Sue Vardon, and the leadership team and the thousands of hard working and highly trained Centrelink staff in offices across Australia. Their efforts and commitment makes dealing with Centrelink a positive experience for customers and has made the successes of the year possible. Finally, our world changed in the course of the past year. The events of September 11, 2001 had an impact on all of our lives and some of the ramifications are still unclear. In response to the very strong feelings of sympathy and concern for those affected by the tragedies in New York and Washington, Centrelink staff initiated a condolence register for their New York public service counterparts. Thousands of Centrelink staff from every corner of Australia signed the register and many wrote poems and sent drawings. I was honoured, along with Sue Vardon, to present the 4

5 CHAPTER 1: THE YEAR IN REVIEW 1 Condolence books (two volumes) to the US Ambassador, Mr Thomas Schieffer who has passed them on to the employees of the New York Human Resources Agency. Centrelink looks forward to the year ahead with a sense of optimism and confidence that the agency will, through its role in implementing government policy, continue to make a positive difference to the lives of many Australians. John Pascoe AO CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD 5

6 1 CENTRELINK ANNUAL REPORT Report of the Chief Executive Officer For many Australians, their experience of Centrelink is their local Customer Service Centre. For others we are on the other end of a telephone line. We are now very much a part of the local landscape for many citizens. Since our creation in 1997, our people and our places have been through a significant transformation. Our staff are professional, respectful and friendly. Our offices are warm and welcoming. Happily, most of our customers agree. In our most recent survey, 85 per cent of customers who have had an experience with one of our Call Centres or Customer Service Centres said that their experience was a good one. Throughout the year we continued to listen to our customers. A simpler system with less paper work, that remembers what people told us the last time they were a customer, is something we know citizens want. This year we have taken some big steps to make things simpler for them. The new Customer Account means claim forms will be almost redundant. It means that when citizens come to us, if we have helped them before, all we need from them this time is details of any changes in their circumstances. If they want to know what our records hold about them, or change any of their details, they will be able to access their account. From , customers will be sent an account statement every three months. This will dramatically reduce the number of letters we now have to send our customers and enable them to assist us in making sure that all the information we hold about their circumstances is up to date. Service Profiling means that we can use our knowledge of our customers characteristics and their circumstances to more effectively target our efforts and services. For example, we will be able to better assist those customers who are at risk of not meeting their obligations. This approach will allow a much better use of our resources while getting better outcomes for our customers. Our priorities was another very challenging year as we prepared for the implementation of Australians Working Together (AWT) initiatives a major new direction in the welfare system of which Centrelink is a key player. The successful implementation of AWT will remain a top priority in the coming year. As well, Minister Vanstone set us four key priorities: ensuring the integrity of the social security system; helping people move forward; making Centrelink even more responsive to customers; and working in partnership with communities and business. There are two additional management priorities, supporting our staff and agents to achieve our business objectives and giving the government confidence in its investment and transparency in its costs. Our progress in meeting these priorities are reported in Chapters 8 and 9. 6

7 CHAPTER 1: THE YEAR IN REVIEW 1 Ensuring the integrity of the social security system In Centrelink finalised a Business Assurance Framework with our biggest client, the Department of Family and Community Services. The framework covers technical correctness, business outcomes, customer service offers and organisational performance. In the framework plan for Getting it Right the main action areas are: policy and product improvement; management support and accountability; systems improvement; and staff support. The staff support strategies for Getting it Right will enhance the roles of checkers and experts, update and simplify the e-reference tool and raise staff technical skills for decision-making and accuracy of payments. Ensuring the integrity of the social security system by controlling fraud and incorrect payments continues to be a major priority. Our detection and review capability is of a world standard. This year we added two more tools to our detection capability. These new tools are an internet-based facility, which opened in September 2001, and a dedicated telephone line, which was set up in January Both enable members of the public to anonymously report suspected fraud. All tip-off allegations received are forwarded electronically to a central Tip-off Identification site in Area West Australia. Helping people move forward A major focus of the year has been preparations for the start of AWT. The Personal Adviser role embodies the new directions implicit within the AWT initiative that is individualised services with a focus on overcoming barriers and increasing our customers ability to participate. A major recruitment exercise was undertaken over the last months of this financial year. There were over applicants from which Centrelink chose 400 exceptional people with special skills. These included a 71 year-old former business man and journalist who speaks seven languages and understands the special challenges faced by unemployed mature aged customers. Making Centrelink even more responsive to customers One of the success stories in is Centrelink Call. It has won consistent acclaim for its customer satisfaction, team leadership, individual performance and effective management, including in the Australian Teleservices Association Awards, run by the peak Australian call centre industry body. While technical innovations have helped boost productivity and streamline operations we will need to continue to pay attention to reducing call wait times. To help families provide updated income estimates, in July 2001 we introduced the first online transaction for customers. Families with internet access can now update their income estimates from the convenience of their own home at a time they choose. This has been a great success with more than estimates submitted online during the year. Feedback from families has been overwhelmingly positive. 7

8 1 CENTRELINK ANNUAL REPORT Working in partnerships with communities and business Centrelink is only one of many agencies that citizens can go to for help. For many of our customers, their local community and the many non-government organisations that work within these communities, offer a lifeline. Centrelink is committed to working in genuine partnerships with all these organisations. As much as possible, we are sharing our resources with our community partners. One of these resources, Community Connections, is a national data base of community organisations and their services, which we are developing in partnership with the community sector. This directory will connect Centrelink, customers and the community. It will eventually be an important resource for staff in Centrelink and community organisations. It is planned that this resource, along with other information services from Centrelink, will be available to community providers and the non-government sector through a dedicated extranet connection. We have also established a number of reference groups to represent the interests of our customers and our community sector partners. These include reference groups representing older people, young people, and migrants. We also need to draw on the advice and the experience of our community partners when putting in place major initiatives such as AWT. The AWT Implementation Reference Group was established in May 2002 and includes membership from 13 community organisations and businesses. Its purpose is to bring a diverse range of views and opinions to the implementation process so that it works as well as possible for the community and customers. Business groups are also key partners. The Centrelink Board of Management has been very supportive of Centrelink s recognition of the importance of the relationships we have with businesses and the priority we are placing on making these relationships work better. We are developing much smarter ways of interacting with them to reduce the impact and costs to them in dealing with Centrelink, for example, when confirming customer earnings. The Employer Contact Unit in Hobart, has made good progress in the last year towards developing automated systems which, when implemented, will substantially reduce the imposition on employers. We are also making it much easier and cheaper for those businesses, which provide concessions to our customers to confirm their eligibility. Financial results In Centrelink produced a sound financial result with its Annual Financial Statements again being signed by the Auditor-General without qualification. We achieved: an operating surplus of $6.96 million; returns to the Government of all required efficiency dividends totalling $240.2 million; and a positive cash position of $ million. To improve the business and cost efficiency of Centrelink services and government outcomes, Centrelink continued to work on various projects including business process redesign, strategic and channel cost management, and partnering and strategic sourcing strategies. The results of these projects will be reflected in our performance in

9 CHAPTER 1: THE YEAR IN REVIEW 1 The next 12 months and beyond Next year Centrelink will once again focus on meeting the expectations of the Government, client agencies, business, communities and customers by: improving consistency of performance and practice by getting it right the first time; helping Australians move forward by building a stronger focus on economic and social participation; meeting community expectations by delivering quality service; and engaging with the community by delivering better outcomes. The theme for the new Business Plan is Delivering Today and Transforming Tomorrow. The Plan identifies eight key objectives and the Government s and management s priorities. It provides the context for making decisions about projects and other activities, with emphasis on positioning Centrelink to effectively implement AWT initiatives. The Business Plan will also be used throughout the organisation as the basis for detailed Business Improvement Plans. The effective delivery of programs and services in rural, remote and Indigenous communities will continue as a high priority, with particular focus on using new and emerging technologies and service delivery options. In 2002, improvements will be made to Quality on Line our online correctness of decision making tool. Already significant progress has been made with Edge, the decision support system for Family Assistance Office claims. Customer risk profiling is also being introduced to further streamline decision making. The learning priorities for are aligned with the Business Plan. These include: introducing the new induction program, AWT training and nationally recognised learning leadership development programs, improving the technical skills for Getting it Right, training and accreditation for work checkers, workplace-based trainers and training for Centrelink Agents. Despite considerable improvement this year, people management will again require substantial effort at all levels throughout Centrelink to ensure that staff are properly supported through continuous change. Thank you I would like to thank our client agencies and our people for their contributions to Centrelink during I want especially to acknowledge the hard work of Centrelink staff in embracing the year s challenges with commitment and professionalism. I particularly want to thank, Mr John Pascoe, AO, the Chairman of the Centrelink Board of Management and my fellow Board members whose guidance, expertise and commitment to our organisation has, as always, been immensely valuable. Sue Vardon CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER 9